


Carni-Fall in Love

by incorrectpsb



Category: Prep School Blues (Web Series)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-22 12:59:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17663111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/incorrectpsb/pseuds/incorrectpsb
Summary: Tracy and Rachel join Jack and Larsen for Carni-Fall. It gets gay. #Trachel





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> so this is continuing off of Prep School Graduation, and is basically just Trachel fluff with zero plot. Enjoy!
> 
> (I guess it got a little angsty and smutty while I was writing it, so there ya go, be warned)

A casual observer passing through the quiet town of Beaumont would never have been able to tell that just the previous day, the streets had been packed with trick-or-treaters and parents desperately trying to keep track of which child dressed as a bedsheet ghost was theirs. The sidewalks and parks were bathed in the warm glow of the sunrise, and every resident was almost guaranteed a peaceful morning.

Everyone except for Jack Winters, anyway.

Poor Jack had barely gotten enough sleep as it was, having been up so late last night he’d technically gone to bed early. He and Larsen had gotten tipsy and went to the abandoned bowling alley for a few games and failed to recall the lack of bowling balls and pins at the venue. Jack had offered to use a bag of Jelly Babies as pins and peanut M&Ms as bowling balls. Larsen had laughed cynically, rolled his eyes and said “sure, why not” but ended up having so much fun they didn’t leave to go home until 5AM. They finally settled on Jack being the overall victor of their bowling tournament, even though Larsen had insisted on extending the number from best-out-of-three so many times that it ended up being best out of forty-five. Just as the sun was rising and the early morning birdsong began, Larsen had escorted Jack to his bedroom in a fit of giggles with Jack desperately shushing him.

Given the unexpected route Jack’s sleeping pattern had gone down, Tracy calling him at 9AM wasn’t exactly ideal.

“Hello?” Jack groaned groggily as he rubbed his eyes.

“Jack! Hi!” God, it was too early for Tracy to be this chirpy.

“Hey there,” Jack managed to get out, his eyes drooping shut again.

“Sorry, did I wake you?” said Tracy. “Well, I say I’m sorry, I’m not that sorry. Why aren’t you up?! Time waits for no one!”

“I was… at a party last night,” After all, that was much cooler than explaining that you’re tired because you were engaged in an intense Jelly Baby Bowling tournament with your boyfriend until dawn. 

“Cool!” Tracy didn’t sound like she’d registered what he said at all. She sounded like she was positively bursting with news. “Guess what guess what guess what! Rachel and I are coming home for the day!”

Jack bolted up, fully awake now. He felt like he hadn’t seen Rachel or Tracy in forever, and he was very anxious to.

“Tracy, that’s amazing!” Jack said excitedly.

“We can’t wait! Come hang out with us!”

“Yes! Immediately!” Jack sprang out of bed and immediately opened his chest of drawers. “Where?! When?!”

“Noon, maybe? We’re driving up now. Wanna go to Carni-Fall? Bring Larsen!”

“NOON! CARNI-FALL!” Jack squealed.

“I KNOW!” Tracy yelled, matching Jack’s enthusiasm. “SEE YOU SOON.”

“TRACY!”

“THAT’S ME!!” Tracy hung up and Jack immediately called Larsen. He answered on the second ring.

“Hey party animal, are you calling to admit that I’m the true winner of the Jelly Baby Massacre?” said Larsen playfully.

“No, I am not, and I’ll never do that!” said Jack, bouncing lightly on his feet as he spoke. “Rachel and Tracy are coming home! We’re going to Carni-Fall!”

Larsen yawned. “I’ve missed them but… oh my God, I’m so tired.”

Jack’s tone of voice became solemn and grave. “If they ask, we were at a Halloween party last night. That’s why we’re tired.”

“Oh, absolutely.”

*

Tracy and Rachel spent an equal amount of time behind the wheel on their road trip, but Rachel was the one driving home this time. Their car was still decked out with Halloween décor, so much so that children had knocked on their car door a few times to trick-or-treat. It got to the point where Rachel bought a bag of candy for them; Tracy had even wanted to put a sign on the car that said, “free candy inside”, before Rachel explained why that would have been a very bad idea.

Tracy rested her head against the window, the coolness of the glass waking her up slightly. She’d used up all her morning energy getting excited with Jack over the phone, and she’d exhausted herself a bit. She could use an extra hour or two of sleep, but she could never sleep well in cars. It was like literally letting the world fly past her while she ignored it.

She turned her head to the side to look at Rachel, and immediately a smile flickered on her lips. Rachel looked right at home driving around in a car that wasn’t the beaten-up monstrosity back in Beaumont that constantly needed repairs. She was wearing a red plaid shirt and white vest, her blonde hair cascading down her shoulders. The early rays of sunshine shone through the window and enveloped her, making her hair even more golden. One hand was on the steering wheel, the other was fiddling with the CD player, trying to select the perfect road trip jam. Tracy’s eyes fell on Rachel’s slender fingers as they felt around for the correct button; she wasn’t going to take her eyes off the road for too long to see what she was doing.

Tracy turned to gaze at Rachel’s face, and didn’t look away. They had grown so close over the summer, even more than before, and now that autumn was here Tracy spent a long time thinking about where they were going to go from here. It’s not like it made a difference to her that Rachel was a girl, she’d just never had a friend like Rachel before. She wanted to keep Rachel safe, the same way Rachel did for her. They were so good for each other, everybody said so. Was it worth jeopardising that by being more than friends? Tracy was never one for relationships, she never needed them, she had always just wanted real friends. She had that with Rachel. Maybe things were fine as they were.

“Have I got something on my face there, Tracy?” said Rachel playfully as she stopped at a red light.

Tracy smirked sleepily. “Yup. Beauty and grace.”

Rachel rolled her eyes. “She’s beauty. She’s grace. She’s got stuff on her face.”

Tracy giggled for a little too long and Rachel raised an eyebrow.

“It wasn’t that funny,” she giggled, still looking intently at the road.

“It is when you’re this tired,” said Tracy, and she was already slipping out of consciousness.

When Tracy slipped away, Rachel looked over to her and couldn’t help but smile. She was so cute when she slept. She always smiled in her slumber. Rachel would have loved to know what Tracy dreamt about. It seemed like a wonderful world.

Rachel was jolted out of her daydream by the furious tooting of car horns behind her. The lights were at green now. 

Rachel stepped on it. It finally happened; her big old crush on her best friend had made her a less than stellar driver. Her brain felt like it would explode at any moment in dread.

Half an hour later, Rachel slowed the car to a halt as gently as possible and turned to Tracy, whose chest rose and fell steadily as she breathed in and out, smiling away in her sleep. Rachel didn’t want to wake her when she was this content, but she knew that what Tracy was waking up to would make her happier than any dream she was having.

Rachel laid a hand on Tracy’s shoulder and gently shook her. “Hey, wake up.”

Tracy’s eyes flickered open and she immediately grinned upon seeing Rachel. She’d never get used to the thrill of waking up next to her.

“We’re here, Trace!”

Tracy bolted upwards, and Rachel ducked out the way just in time to avoid being accidentally headbutted. When the girls gazed out of the window, they saw a sight so familiar that they felt the impact in their gut. Although they’d been here just last fall, they felt like they hadn’t seen it in years. Beaumont was littered with fairground attractions and excited residents of all ages. Carni-Fall had returned to Beaumont, and so had Tracy and Rachel.

“Oh, hell yeah,” Rachel murmured, and then she grinned ear to ear. “Let’s do this!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Did someone order some ANGST?! Also Damien and Simone show up because I think I'm funny
> 
> (I've always been pretty vocal about the problems with Trachel as a romantic relationship e.g. Rachel needing friendship before needing romance, as well as needing to work on herself and what she thinks love is, and Tracy not appearing to have any interest in romantic relationships at that point in time. This is basically me bringing them up so I can move past them. Essay Writing 101 amirite anyway here's some Trachel content)

Jack and Larsen had been sitting at a picnic bench, slouched casually and sharing the most inexpensive candy floss Carni-Fall had to offer. They looked so relaxed, but the second they saw Tracy and Rachel they sprang into action. The girls ran into the arms of their old friends, screaming and hugging them tightly, with Jack joining in on all the screaming. Larsen tried his best to keep up with all the hurried conversation as Jack, Rachel and Tracy all chattered away, overlapping each other’s questions in desperation to catch up on each other’s lives as quickly as possible. He was so happy to see Rachel and Tracy, and for the four of them to be together again for the day, but he was just… so tired.

“Wow, Larsen, you have serious zombie face! It must have been a wild party!” Tracy said, giggling as she took some of his candy floss and brought it to her gloss painted lips. 

Larsen raised an eyebrow in a moment of forgetfulness and confusion, then remembered himself. “Oh. Yeah. Yeah, it was. I’m so hungover right now, I guess.”

Rachel nudged Jack when she was sure Tracy was distracted.

“You guys were up late doing something dorky, weren’t you?” she whispered with a playful smile.

“So dorky,” Jack winced, much to Rachel’s silent amusement.

Tracy and Rachel relayed their adventures of the past few months to their friends, Jack’s face lighting up upon hearing tales of all the historical landmarks they’d visited and Larsen fading into beautiful daydreams about the free, open roads that Tracy described connecting them all. As they all talked and laughed and reminisced together, Rachel noticed something very odd. She had come back to this little town specifically to see people she hadn’t seen in months, not for the fairground attractions. She’d come for her father, and Jack, and Larsen, and anybody from her old life who would want to see her. She’d had so little contact with anyone but Tracy for so long, she should have been dying to speak to someone else for a change. But she wasn’t. She just wanted to be right here at this carnival with Tracy. 

She had been alone with Tracy for months now, and theoretically should be sick of her, but she wasn’t. As happy as she was to catch up with Jack and Larsen, she wanted to hang out with Tracy right now. During the lengthy catch up session, Rachel gradually spoke less and less and simply watched Tracy excitedly tell all the sordid, fantastical and totally unbelievable stories from their road trip. Rachel loved her wild eyes when she talked of their adventures, and the patient warm smiles that she kept just for Rachel when they were alone. She’d seen all sides of Tracy, and she loved every single one of them.

She wanted to talk to someone about how she felt about Tracy, but the only person she wanted to talk to about anything so personal was Tracy, and that wouldn’t cut it right now. Jack was her only other option. She just had to get him alone; as much as she trusted Larsen and loved him like the brother she never had, considering how damn long it took him to realise he loved Jack, perhaps he wasn’t the best person to seek advice from right now.

“Trace, can you and Larsen grab us some hot dogs?” Rachel said when Tracy stopped for breath, smiling as widely as possible. It probably looked a little fake, but in her effort to be convincing she was actually not very convincing at all.

Tracy paused, taken aback. Rachel didn’t usually try to get rid of her; anything she wanted to say to Jack, Rachel could say in front of her, she knew that. Tracy had tried to get rid of Rachel and succeeded when she was sneaking Larsen an invitation to their leaving party, but Tracy wasn’t convinced that this could be motivated by anything like that. It’s not like they were planning on staying long enough for any surprise plans to be cooked up. 

Well, she supposed that Rachel would want a break from her after all this time. She shouldn’t be offended or hurt by that. Rachel had been friends with Jack way before they had even met, of course she wanted some time with him. Tracy smiled and nodded, grabbing Larsen by the wrist. 

“Come on, Larsen, tonight we feast,” she said as she attempted with futile effort to get him to stand up. “The hot dog queen requires a piggyback to the hot dog stand.”

Larsen, not even awake enough to laugh at the irony of Tracy calling herself the hot dog queen, rested his head in his free hand and rubbed his temples. “God, I’m tired. Can’t you just get them?” 

“But Larsennnnnn,” she whined. Rachel tried to give Larsen a look that would signal she wanted to be alone to talk to Jack, but he wouldn’t look up at her. Jack, however, did see this look. Luckily, he knew that he was able to get Larsen’s attention, using expert methods no less.

“The piggyback buys my silence, Larsen,” said Jack ominously and without a hint of irony. Larsen’s head tiled upwards. Jack was holding an empty packet of Peanut M&M’s up to Larsen’s nose.

“You wouldn’t.”

“Oh, I would. Victors have nothing to be ashamed of.”

Larsen sighed and motioned for a confused Tracy to jump up on his back. She smiled a victorious smile, mounted her noble steed and ventured off towards the hot dog stand, leaving Jack and Rachel alone.

Jack didn’t say anything, but it wasn’t out of any awkward tension born from not knowing what to say after being apart for such a long time. They had so much to talk about. He just knew there was something she needed to say and trying to coax it out of her would only take longer. So he quietly waited, and his patience eventually paid off.

“Jack,” Rachel said finally, her voice cracking. “Why do I want Tracy around all the time?”

Jack raised his eyebrows. There was being oblivious, and then there was this. Wow, he’d never make fun of Larsen again. “If you don’t know, Rachel, I really don’t know what to tell you.”

Rachel hung her head, frustrated. “It’s like she’s my friend, but more, but… no, she can’t be…” Rachel trailed off. She knew what she wanted to talk about, but she had no idea what to say. Or maybe she did. Either way, the words wouldn’t come out. Saying it would make it real, and the reality of it all was terrifying.

“You sound like Larsen,” said Jack with a playful giggle. Rachel almost protested, no way did she sound like that moron, but then she really thought about it. Was her denial of her feelings for Tracy really any different to all those months Larsen spent pretending he didn’t love Jack?

“I really like her,” said Rachel, her voice trembling. “I wish I could turn it off.”

Jack looked at her in utter bewilderment. Rachel had such a pure love in her life. Who would choose to be rid of that? 

“Why?”

Rachel shrugged. “I don’t think she feels the same.”

“She seems to really like you, Rachel,” said Jack fondly. “She gets all smiley whenever she looks at you, more than usual anyway. Wasn’t the whole road trip thing her idea?”

Rachel stammered for a second before speaking again. “Sure, but as a friend thing more than anything. She doesn’t think of me that way.”

Jack rolled his eyes. “You’re telling me a girl who suggested being alone in a car with you for months on end isn’t at least a little into you?”

Jack made it sound much simpler than it was, in Rachel’s mind. Her smile slowly faded as she spoke.

“So, what if she does like me?” said Rachel forlornly. “It’s not like I can give her what she wants, she has so much experience and I… don’t.”

“So?” said Jack, trying to sound nonchalant and confident. He knew what it was like to feel insecure about that. He just didn’t want Rachel to feel the same way he did. “When I dated Edgar, I didn’t have any ‘experience’. You get that along the way.”

Rachel still wasn’t convinced, and it was hardly just about that. 

“She’s never seemed like she was interested in a relationship with anyone, I’d only be holding her back, she’s such a free spirit,” Rachel was grasping at straws and she knew it, but she couldn’t stop.

“Have you asked her if she wants that with you?” said Jack.

“I know she doesn’t.”

“No, you don’t.”

Jack paused, and looked over to the hot dog stand, where Larsen and Tracy seemed to have run into Damien. Tracy didn’t look like her usual, happy self in that moment, but he couldn’t concern himself with that right now. He turned back to look at Rachel, whose whole body was shivering.

“Rachel, why did you want to talk to me about this? It seems like you’ve made up your mind.”

Rachel sighed and looked towards the dry grass on the ground, counting the blades to entertain herself during this excruciating silence. She regretted bringing this up. She hoped and prayed that Tracy and Larsen would be back soon and all this would be forgotten, but Jack wasn’t letting her away with this that easily.

“If you don’t wanna tell her because you’re scared, I get that,” Jack said sincerely. People say that they get it all the time, Rachel thought to herself, but Jack really did mean it. He’d been so scared to tell Larsen how he felt, and even more terrified to be with him in public. But he did, and now they were so happy together. Still scared, but they were scared together. Rachel wasn’t even so sure that Tracy would be scared. Rachel would be, but Tracy would be able to calm her. Tracy had the fiery confidence, and Rachel had the calm, collected mindset. They were two puzzle pieces. Maybe they should be together?

First and foremost, before she thought about any of that, she had to talk to Tracy about this. Her heart was in her throat, but if she could have at least a shred of the happiness that Jack and Larsen had found, it would be worth it. She looked up at Jack, smiling.

“Let’s see what happens, okay?”

*

“So, Larsen, what’s the real reason you’re tired?” Tracy said as she hung off his back like a sloth.

Larsen simply let out an elongated groan, hoping Tracy would hop off of him soon. He was too exhausted to form an articulate sentence, and that very strange sound that made several bystanders turn around in surprise was the best he could do right now.

“Oh, I get it. Dirty stuff.”

“Oh, fuck off,” said Larsen, but he was laughing. He crouched down, unable to support Tracy any longer despite all his recent weight training, and Tracy hopped off.

“So, how’s road tripping with Rachel?” said Larsen as they waited in the queue. 

Tracy smiled and chuckled to herself. Her face was practically glowing at the mention of Rachel. “It’s something else, Larsen.”

He said nothing. She’d listened to him so many times about Jack before she went away, and now he wanted to return the favour.

“She… she really sees me,” said Tracy longingly. “She looks at me like I’m important to her.”

Larsen sighed. “You are important, Tracy.”

Tracy shook her head. “Look, this isn’t a cry for help, I don’t hate myself or anything, it’s just that people treat me like I’m just a toy sometimes. Rachel has never done that. She never hung out with me just because I hook up with people at school, she really liked me for me.”

Larsen hung his head in shame. “Right… sorry.”

Tracy rolled her eyes and patted him on the back. “That wasn’t a dig at you, Larsen. I like hooking up, I’m not mad at people because they liked hooking up with me. Sometimes it’s just all people see in me, you know? Rachel sees everything about me, not just that part of me, and I love that.”

Larsen smiled a knowing smile in Rachel’s direction. “And… what do you see in her?”

Tracy blushed. Larsen was shocked; he’d never seen Tracy blush before. She looked so shy, it was a new look on her and a rather cute one at that. Rachel had got her good.

“I see whole entire worlds,” she said, softly. When she looked over and saw Larsen grinning at her proudly, she brushed it off. “Gross, that was cheesy.”

“Nope. Poetry,” said Larsen.

“Tracy?! Tracy Davis?!”

Tracy’s head whipped around, and Damien was running towards her.

“Damien, hi!” She pulled him into a hug.

“I feel like it’s been forever!” said Damien excitedly. “We thought we’d never see you again when you and Rachel went off to… where did you go?”

“Where didn’t we go, Damien?” said Tracy, her eyes lighting up in memory of her and Rachel’s many adventures.

Damien saw the sparkle in Tracy’s eyes and chuckled. “God, you guys were away forever. Just the two of you?”

Tracy nodded, smiling. “Just the two of us.”

Damien looked over at Rachel, and then back to Tracy. “So, you guys hook up?”

Tracy froze. “Excuse me?”

Damien’s eyebrows knitted. “You’re telling me you guys were in a car alone for months and didn’t hook up?”

Larsen was taken aback; he knew Tracy had a tendency to tell raunchy tales with little prompting, but he’d never seen anyone try to coax them out of her. He supposed that people thought that was okay to do. He checked on Tracy. He had never seen her look so tense before, not even when she screamed at that Chelsea girl at the leaving party. Her breath was shaky, and her eyes looked like they could turn someone to stone. 

“No, Damien, we didn’t,” she said simply. Unfortunately, this did nothing to dissuade Damien for pushing the matter. For someone who caught on so easily to the fact that Tracy had taken quite a liking to Rachel, Damien didn’t know when to shut up about this.

“Huh. First time for everything, I guess – imagine Tracy Davis going that long without sex,” he said, laughing. He was trying to be friendly, but Tracy’s entire being was filling up with rage.

“Hey, back off, man,” Larsen quickly intervened, trying to keep his cool. He didn’t like people talking that way about Tracy or Rachel, no matter how harmlessly they meant it.

Damien looked confused. “I didn’t mean anything by it”—

“Look, whatever, just stop,” said Larsen, putting a hand on Tracy’s shoulder. She was completely rigid.

Realisation dawned on Damien that he’d really put his foot in it.

“Oh… I’m sorry, guys, I really didn’t mean to upset you,” said Damien. An awkward silence followed. Much to Larsen and Tracy’s dismay, it looked like Damien was about to break it, but Simone was rushing over to them.

“Damien!” she shrieked with urgency, grabbing him by the shoulders. “We have a situation! Code 918!”

The colour drained from Damien’s face. “Oh my God. What about the dinosaurs?!”

“Safe, but not for long! We need to leave, right now!”

Larsen was immensely confused. Whatever Simone and Damien had gone on to do after their Detroit adventures, it seemed like a big old pile of crazy. He wasn’t sure if he wanted an explanation or not, but it didn’t seem like he was going to get one in any case.

Simone became aware of her spectators. “Hi Larsen. Tracy.”

She turned back to Damien and pulled him away, yanking him by the arm. “Come on, come on, the timeline isn’t going to fix itself!”

Larsen watched them leave, bewildered.

“Huh,” he said, and then chuckled. “Once a drama club kid, always a drama club kid I guess. Think that was some kind of improv thing?”

Larsen hoped to laugh Damien off with Tracy, but when he turned to look at her, she had tears in her eyes.

“Oh, no, Tracy…” Seeing Tracy cry was surreal. She’d always been the happy one. He knew she was still human, but he’d never once seen her cry. It was almost as upsetting as when Jack cried.

Tracy sniffed. “That right there. That’s what I mean. No one sees me.”

Larsen pulled Tracy into an affectionate hug, and she sobbed once against his shoulder.

As Tracy cried silently and Larsen stroked her hair, she thought back to a few minutes ago when they were all reminiscing and Rachel sent her away. Of course she had. They were surrounded by her peers and they’d just been alone for so long on the road. There were bound to be rumours that Rachel wanted no part in. Rachel didn’t want anything to do with her in public. Tracy wasn’t ashamed of who she was, she was proud of her drive to go after what she wanted no matter what people thought of her. But the idea of Rachel rejecting her over it broke her heart. Rachel wasn’t only tired of her, she was embarrassed by her. All the hopes she’d built up of them being together somewhere down the line were falling apart as tears ran down her face and landed on Larsen’s t-shirt.

“He didn’t mean to be awful, Trace, he was just being really thoughtless,” said Larsen, doing his best to comfort her. 

Tracy nodded into his chest. “Yeah. Damien’s not a bad guy.”

She pulled away and wiped tears from her eyes. “This is stupid, I’m always telling stories about my hook-ups, but I’m getting upset over this…”

Larsen paused, like he was trying to phrase something delicately. “Edgar talked that way about Jack once, and it made me so angry. I guess it’s different when they’re talking about someone you love like that.”

Tracy shook her head. “No. I can’t love Rachel, and she can’t love me, because no one is ever gonna accept me the way I am, not even her. Whatever.”

Larsen, gobsmacked, was about to refute those claims but they were suddenly at the front of the queue. Tracy hurriedly ordered four hot dogs, steadying her breathing and ignoring Larsen’s hushed attempts to resume the conversation and prove her wrong. She rushed over to Jack and Rachel with their food, trying her best not to make eye contact with Larsen as they ate. 

Rachel looked over to Tracy. Something was wrong. Tracy was only nibbling at her food, and she looked like she’d aged about ten years in the past five minutes. If Tracy thought she could hide from Rachel when she’d just been crying, she was dead wrong.

Rachel slowly, delicately, intertwined her hand with Tracy’s, and almost as soon as she did Tracy jerked her hand from Rachel’s touch. Rachel’s jaw dropped slightly, her heart stopping for a moment.

Oh. Right. She couldn’t get more explicit than that. Rachel turned away from Tracy, blinking rapidly and taking deep breaths. She’d misread the situation. Of course she had. Typical Rachel Miller, desperately reaching for a romantic relationship with anyone who showed her the slightest bit of kindness. She didn’t know why she’d expected Tracy to be any different. She tried desperately to swallow the lump in her throat, not looking anyone around her in the eye.

Jack and Larsen exchanged a knowing glance. They knew this sketch, they’d practically written the book on it. Tracy and Rachel had been there for them through all of their doubts about being together, and now, as bizarre as it was, it was their turn to do the same. They didn’t know what was wrong, but they did know that they had to do something about this.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> kinda smutty, enjoy to the best of your ability lmao

“So yeah, Damien’s timing and tact was pretty much on par with…” Larsen struggled for a comparison. “…well, mine. Before.”

Jack was filled with second hand embarrassment. How could so much have gone wrong at once? He looked over to Rachel and Tracy; they were still sitting at the picnic table and Jack could feel their awkward, tense vibes from all the way at the information desk. He and Larsen were pretending to look at colour coded maps and timetables for the events while they discussed a plan of action.

“It’s so weird that Tracy hasn’t just talked about this with Rachel,” said Jack. “She always makes everything so clear and explains things so well. Why can’t she do that with Rachel?”

“Everything’s different when you’re in love with someone, I guess,” said Larsen, thoughtfully. “But even then… come on, we know Rachel’s into Tracy, I think everyone does. Tracy must have a clue, people call her dumb, but she knew about us ages before anyone else did.”

Jack nodded in agreement. “I think she’s just scared, avoiding it. Tracy told me before, after her party last year – she wants people to like her. Rachel’s her only real friend. If they start dating, she technically won’t have a best friend.”

“Dude, we’re her friends!” Larsen insisted. “So, nothing should be holding her back, she’s just scared to talk about it!” A mischievous smile crept over his face.

“Oh God, that look scares me,” Jack winced. Larsen just smiled wider.

“Follow me.” Larsen dragged Jack over to the Ferris wheel. Jack rarely saw Larsen like this, and it was honestly kind of exciting.

“Hey,” Larsen said to the employee running the Ferris wheel. He pulled some crumpled dollar bills out of his pocket. “How much to get our friends over there stuck on the Ferris wheel for a bit?”

Jack’s jaw dropped. Surely, the guy wouldn’t go for this. Surely.

The employee’s expression did not change. “How much you got?”

“Twenty,” said Larsen, his eyes twinkling. Jack was aghast. This had to be a violation of workplace etiquette at the very least.

The employee sighed. He was rather starved for entertainment at this time of day; the carnival was at its least busy time. He needed some kind of distraction from counting away the last hours of his shift on his watch. “Fuck it, why not?”

Larsen pressed the bribe into the employee’s hand. “Give us ten minutes.”

Larsen walked away towards Rachel and Tracy, but Jack stopped him with a hand on the shoulder.

“Larsen, this is so dangerous! What if something happens?!”

Larsen just laughed. “Jack, it’s fine, we’re asking them to stop the thing, not crash it or whatever.”

Jack wasn’t convinced and wouldn’t let Larsen walk away. “What about all the other people on the Ferris wheel with them?!”

Larsen shrugged. “There aren’t many people here right now, it’s not exactly jumping today. Besides, they won’t be up there for long, just long enough for a chat. We tried talking to them, it didn’t work, now they have to talk to each other.”

Jack opened his mouth to protest, but Rachel and Tracy caught his eye. They looked so painfully awkward and, quite frankly, Jack didn’t want to spend Carni-Fall with that kind of energy surrounding him. If this scheme failed, it failed. They had nothing to lose.

Jack sighed. “They will never forgive us if they find out.”

Larsen smirked. “Oh, I think they will.”

*

It had taken some convincing, but Rachel and Tracy geared up to get on the Ferris wheel together. Rachel remembered the last time she saw this Ferris wheel, gazing longingly at all the couples riding it together. This time around, Rachel and Tracy were the only ones queuing up besides Jack and Larsen, who mysteriously backed out of a Ferris wheel ride at the last second. Rachel had been suspicious of this, but the boys had run off before she could question it, and she didn’t want to leave Tracy alone.

Rachel extended a hand to Tracy to help her climb into the gondola, but Tracy ignored it and climbed in herself. Rachel clambered in after her, her heart sinking to the ground.

Rachel didn’t know why she agreed to this, Tracy was being just as silent and as awkward as she was on the ground. If Rachel had done something wrong, she wished Tracy would just tell her what it was. It wasn’t like Tracy to be secretive or stubborn, and it was really concerning her. She wasn’t so sure they should continue their road trip if she was going to act this way.

Then, right as their gondola was at the top of the wheel, they stopped moving. Rachel frantically looked around, starting to panic, and Tracy caught onto this. She didn’t like seeing Rachel nervous, and impulsively took her hand.

“Don’t worry, this thing’s unreliable as hell, it happens every year I bet,” Tracy said with a reassuring smile. Rachel grimaced in response. At least Tracy was talking to her now.

But then, just as quickly as she had taken it, Tracy released Rachel’s hand and turned away, remembering herself.

Rachel was silent for a few moments but decided enough was enough. She regretted even thinking about stopping their road trip, of course she wanted to keep going. But first, she had to resolve whatever this was.

“Tracy, is something wrong?”

Silence. Rachel inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. Okay, here goes. Maybe what she was about to say would snap her out of this.

“Tracy, I don’t know what I did, or didn’t do, or if I did anything at all,” Rachel said softly, trying to articulate what she’d wanted to say for so long. Jack was right, she had to say it out loud, even if it was scary. “But I… I really, really like you.”

Tracy didn’t move. She was still turned away. Rachel didn’t care; she’d started now, and she couldn’t stop.

“I… I think I like you more than any of those crushes you watched me develop after we became friends,” Rachel said with a chuckle. “These past few months have been amazing, and I’m so happy you’re my friend. I’m so… proud of you. I’m proud of us. I’m proud to know you.”

Tracy’s head finally turned around to face Rachel. Proud? That sounded like the opposite of embarrassment. The opposite of shame.

“Rachel, it’s just… I talked to Damien, and the first thing he asked me was if we hooked up,” Tracy said tenderly. “I hate people thinking of you like that.”

“Oh, for God’s sake, is that what this was about?” Rachel sighed, taking Tracy’s hand again. Tracy squeezed back this time, shaking with glee.

“Tracy, people can think what they want. I don’t care what anyone thinks of me except you.”

Tracy smiled, and couldn’t stop smiling. Of course Rachel felt that way. She didn’t know how she could have doubted it. She smiled so wide her cheeks were bound to hurt in the morning. She shook all over, and Rachel noticed it.

“Oh my God, you look freezing, here.” Rachel, grinning away with relief, took off her plaid shirt and started putting it on Tracy. Tracy didn’t notice it until now, but she was cold. Every time Rachel’s fingers brushed against her skin, however, she felt a rush of warmth through her body. 

Tracy, wrapped in Rachel’s clothes, gazed at her friend. Rachel had such a beautiful figure, and the wind caressed her hair with its gentle breeze so her pale blonde locks tickled her bare shoulders. It was impossible to resist. Tracy leaned on Rachel, slowly, her head resting on Rachel’s shoulder.

Rachel wrapped her arms around Tracy, holding her tightly, and Tracy turned her head, her cold lips resting on the skin of Rachel’s shoulder. She felt so safe right now. She wanted to be as close to Rachel as possible.

Rachel affectionately caressed Tracy’s arms with her thumbs as she held her close, all too aware of Tracy’s warm breath on her skin. It felt amazing to be this close to her. They were never ashamed to hug or be intimate, in public or otherwise, but it felt different this time. As Tracy nuzzled ever closer to her, she felt the strangest, most poignant sense of anticipation.

After a time, Tracy kissed Rachel’s shoulder, slowly, softly. Rachel’s entire body weakened for a moment, loosening her grip on Tracy, but she didn’t let go. She wanted Tracy to do that again, and she did.

Tracy kept kissing Rachel’s exposed shoulder, running her index finger lightly along Rachel’s stomach as she did. She felt Rachel’s diaphragm rise and fall as she breathed heavily, her body relaxing as Tracy worked her magic. Tracy wrapped an arm around Rachel, pulling her close, their bodies pressed together, and moved her kisses to Rachel’s neck. Rachel let out a soft, high-pitched moan as she did. The sound prompted Tracy to unwind the arm snaked around Rachel’s waist and slowly move her hand towards Rachel’s stomach, and then downwards. She wanted to hear that sound again. Tracy’s hand navigated its way down Rachel’s trembling body and gently found the zip on Rachel’s jeans, as slowly as possible. While she hoped she wouldn’t rebuff her, Tracy wanted to give Rachel plenty of warning for what she was about to do.

Rachel felt Tracy move her slender fingers past the layers of clothing that separated their bodies and inhaled sharply, pulling Tracy as tightly as possible towards her and burying her face in Tracy’s hair. Tracy’s hand was freezing cold as it slid under Rachel’s underwear, but she didn’t care. She moaned again into Tracy’s ear, surrendering herself completely as Tracy pinned her against the back of the gondola, moving her kisses from Rachel’s neck gradually up to her mouth. Rachel forgot where she was, and who might be watching; she forgot anything and everything as she gave in to Tracy, waiting eagerly and impatiently for her next move. 

Suddenly, just before Rachel and Tracy’s lips could meet, there was a jolt and they were moving again. Tracy pulled her hand out of Rachel’s jeans and they broke apart from each other, breathing heavily.

“Oh wow, we… we don’t do that,” said Rachel, laughing nervously. She was shaking all over. 

“No, we do not,” said Tracy, her mind in a whirl. She couldn’t stop staring at Rachel. She hadn’t wanted to stop. She wanted to pick up where they left off, public place be damned, but they were soon at the bottom of the Ferris wheel. Rachel tried to stand, but her knees were weak. She could feel Tracy’s phantom fingers on her still, ready to move inside her, but suddenly being interrupted. She felt so satisfied, yet so frustrated. She was too scared to get up in case she collapsed. Tracy would have helped her, but she wasn’t faring much better. Tracy wasn’t used to feeling this nervous. It was new territory for both of them.

The Ferris wheel employee was watching them. His expression had not changed since they got on the ride, he still looked bored and passive, but neither Rachel nor Tracy had any doubt that he’d seen all of that unfold, and probably stopped the ride before it got too intense up there.

Tracy helped Rachel out of the gondola and approached the employee. She was no stranger to sexual encounters in public, but she didn’t want Rachel to be embarrassed. She knew this was new to her.

As Tracy walked over, the employee stopped her in her tracks with words. “Please. Let’s just neither of us speak of this ever.”

“Agreed,” Tracy said quickly, taking Rachel’s hand and speed walking towards Jack and Larsen, who, upon seeing their friends’ intertwined hands, looked very pleased with themselves indeed.


End file.
